Conceptual Base
The Gerlach & Ely model was created for the first edition of Teaching and Media: A Systematic Approach by the authors in 1971. The authors decided that there was a great need for a comprehensive overview of teaching and learning. They observed as academia began to focus its attention on systems and the elements that are part of an instructional system. Models were beginning to flourish around this time, i.e. Gagne & Briggs (1974), Dick & Carey (1978), and Kemp (1971), so the authors decided to try to create a model that could explain each element of teaching and learning, while also establishing a relationship to the media of instruction.
The original concept for the Gerlach & Ely model can be closely linked to the work of the Special Media Institutes Consortium (Syracuse, Southern California, Oregon State System and Michigan State). This group developed the Instructional Development Institute, or Idi, model. This model is comprised of three parts: design, develop and evaluate. Each part is then broken down into three steps as shown in the table below.